Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel leads a roster of 92 seniors in this year's Hula Bowl all-star game Jan. 19 at Honolulu. Joining the Florida star at quarterback of the South team will be USC's Brad Otton. The North lists three quarterbacks--Koy Detmer of Colorado, Steve Sarkisian of Brigham Young and Beau Morgan of Air Force.

Danny Wuerffel, given a chance to start when Billy Joe Hobert suffered a season-ending injury last week, said his own experience and improvement by his teammates enabled him to lead the New Orleans Saints to a 19-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. "You grow out of being a rookie through experience," Wuerffel said after shaking off constant pressure from the Panthers (0-2) to lead the Saints to their first 2-0 start since 1993.

Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel is the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Walter Camp Football Foundation player-of-the-year award. Since 1967, only four Walter Camp winners have not gone on to win the Heisman Trophy. . . . Arizona State's Bruce Snyder is the Pacific 10 coach of the year. . . . Utah State Coach John L. Smith has a new seven-year contract. . . .

Danny Wuerffel has been the postseason awards champion so far. Today, Florida's All-American quarterback and three other finalists will find out who wins college football's biggest prize of all--the Heisman Trophy. Wuerffel is considered the front-runner to win the 62nd Heisman, presented by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. The other finalists are Iowa State running back Troy Davis, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer and Ohio State left tackle Orlando Pace.

Heath Shuler, who has thrown no touchdowns and eight interceptions, will remain the New Orleans Saint starting quarterback, Coach Mike Ditka said. Shuler was pulled in the second half of Sunday's loss to the San Francisco 49ers after throwing three interceptions and replaced by rookie Danny Wuerffel. "I brought him in here to be the player and I'm going to give him a chance to be that player without jerking him around," Ditka snapped when asked why he decided to stick with Shuler.

Florida Coach Steve Spurrier said Danny Wuerffel will start at quarterback ahead of Terry Dean, a Heisman Trophy hopeful only two weeks ago. "I've done a lousy job coaching Terry Dean," Spurrier said, ending speculation that began after the senior was benched during the second half of the fifth-ranked Gators' 36-33 loss to Auburn.

Eric Kresser showed Saturday what might have been if he had not been sentenced to spend his entire Florida career in the shadow of Danny Wuerffel. With Wuerffel's Heisman candidacy given the day off against an overmatched opponent, Kresser made his first start in four years and broke Wuerffel's school passing record with 458 yards, leading the No. 3 Gators to a 58-20 rout of Northern Illinois.

Heath Shuler, who has thrown no touchdowns and eight interceptions, will remain the New Orleans Saint starting quarterback, Coach Mike Ditka said. Shuler was pulled in the second half of Sunday's loss to the San Francisco 49ers after throwing three interceptions and replaced by rookie Danny Wuerffel. "I brought him in here to be the player and I'm going to give him a chance to be that player without jerking him around," Ditka snapped when asked why he decided to stick with Shuler.

He's the kind of kid every parent wants, the kind of student ever teacher praises, the kind of player every coach loves. Little boys gaze at Danny Wuerffel with adoration, adults reach out to touch him. And the 23-year-old Wuerffel has a moment for everyone, a hand shake, a direct smile, an arm around a shoulder for a picture.

There was 8:52 left in Danny Wuerffel's revival meeting Thursday when, for the only time during a sweaty four hours, the Florida quarterback did something nobody noticed. As Terry Jackson was dancing in the end zone after running for the Gators' 44th point, as his teammates were bouncing around the sidelines like bit players in an MTV video, Wuerffel was elsewhere. Alone at midfield. His eyes were pointed to the sky. His hands were clasped in prayer.

Eschewing the usual back-slapping and mutual admiration rhetoric that precedes most bowl games, Florida Coach Steve Spurrier on Saturday continued his verbal assault on Florida State's coaching staff for its alleged dirty tricks campaign against star Gator quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Wuerffel was sacked six times and knocked down a dozen more in the Nov. 30 game at Tallahassee, a 24-21 Florida State victory. Spurrier says "eight to 10" of the hits were late and not penalized.

Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel leads a roster of 92 seniors in this year's Hula Bowl all-star game Jan. 19 at Honolulu. Joining the Florida star at quarterback of the South team will be USC's Brad Otton. The North lists three quarterbacks--Koy Detmer of Colorado, Steve Sarkisian of Brigham Young and Beau Morgan of Air Force.

While Danny Wuerffel may yet turn out to be another Heisman winner who won't make it big in the NFL, his college numbers were too good to ignore, his accomplishments too many to dismiss and his character almost too good to be true. Wuerffel, who spent the week accepting awards and making thank-you speeches, saved the best for last Saturday, when Florida's senior quarterback was named the 62nd winner of the Heisman Trophy in ceremonies at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

Kentucky couldn't steal a victory against No. 7 Florida Saturday night. The Wildcats had a school-record seven interceptions, and led 20-17 on Juha Leonoff's 25-yard field goal with 1:23 left, but couldn't put Florida away in the Southeastern Conference opener at Commonwealth Stadium. "They had us on the ropes," Florida Coach Steve Spurrier said. But with three seconds left, Danny Wuerffel completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Doering to lift the Gators to a 24-20 victory.

Eschewing the usual back-slapping and mutual admiration rhetoric that precedes most bowl games, Florida Coach Steve Spurrier on Saturday continued his verbal assault on Florida State's coaching staff for its alleged dirty tricks campaign against star Gator quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Wuerffel was sacked six times and knocked down a dozen more in the Nov. 30 game at Tallahassee, a 24-21 Florida State victory. Spurrier says "eight to 10" of the hits were late and not penalized.

Danny Wuerffel has been the postseason awards champion so far. Today, Florida's All-American quarterback and three other finalists will find out who wins college football's biggest prize of all--the Heisman Trophy. Wuerffel is considered the front-runner to win the 62nd Heisman, presented by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. The other finalists are Iowa State running back Troy Davis, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer and Ohio State left tackle Orlando Pace.

Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel is the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Walter Camp Football Foundation player-of-the-year award. Since 1967, only four Walter Camp winners have not gone on to win the Heisman Trophy. . . . Arizona State's Bruce Snyder is the Pacific 10 coach of the year. . . . Utah State Coach John L. Smith has a new seven-year contract. . . .